Zach Braff has condemned The Primetime Emmy Awards for purposely excluding his late friend Nick Cordero from its “In Memoriam” tribute.
Fans were left disappointed after notable celebrities including Cordero, Kelly Preston, Drag Race contestant Chi Chi DeVayne, and Kobe Bryant were conspicuously absent from the mentions.
Cordero died in July from coronavirus at the age of 41, after battling the illness for 95 days.
Scrubs star Braff, a close friend of Cordero’s, has now revealed on Twitter that he had actually campaigned to have the Broadway actor’s name included.
“For those wondering: The Emmys chose to leave Nick Cordero out of the memorial montage,” he tweeted on Monday (21 September). “I had no idea one had to campaign to get their loved one in. We did. They passed.”
He then shared a note he allegedly received from Emmy staff, which said: “Those involved in the In Memoriam selection process are very aware of the sad passing of Mr Cordero due to coronavirus and we assure that his name has been given every consideration for inclusion.
“With so many people passing in any given year, we simply cannot ensure any particular individual is included, nor do we release the name of those included prior to the telecast.”
In a third tweet, Braff added: “I should mention too, that they also left out [Scrubs star] Sam Lloyd. I would have never even considered ‘campaigning’ for Sam because he had more TV credits than most actors I know.”
The 2020 Emmy winners were announced in a virtual ceremony for the first time in the awards’ 72-year history. Read the full list of winners here.
